HAWAII reggae artists Maoli Music, The Steppas, and One Rhythm will perform at the Indigo Music Festival in Garapan Friday night.
“We just can’t wait to have a blast with you guys,” One Rhythm lead singer William Kau’hane said. “We are excited to share island reggae music with you guys, and grateful to be here.”
“This is our first time on Saipan,” Maoli Music’s lead singer Glenn Awong said. “We are just all excited and overwhelmed with the Marianas hospitality and the love you guys have shown us so far. We will be jamming the old and the new, including all the covers.”
Asked to give a taste of what concertgoers could expect from them, Awong sang the chorus from one of their popular hits, “Golden,” during the press conference Thursday afternoon at the Marianas Visitors Authority office in San Jose.
MVA is one of the event’s major sponsors.
Regarding their humble beginnings, Awong said, “It’s just been an amazing journey — a lot of downs but some ups too. I am just grateful. We’ve been doing this for a long time and we can’t wait to perform for you guys…and just share that moment with you all.”
Awong’s message for young aspiring artists: “Be passionate…know what you are getting yourself into…do it for the right reasons…and keep reaching for it.”
Star Alanis of The Steppas said they “want to let the people of Saipan know that we are just a bunch of island boys, living our dreams. We like to preach that dreams do really come true…and we are miles and miles from home, giving some good music…we are a living testimony on that.”
Roil Soil Marketing owner and Indigo Music Festival organizer Shayne Villanueva said: “We are excited to have this big event, bringing high class and vibrant performances from these reggae artists to the island. It’s been some time since we had an event like this, since the Covid 19 pandemic hit us.”
Villanueva noted that the reggae artists recently had a very successful show on Guam. “They had close to 5,000 people in Guam. For Saipan we are expecting 2,000,” he said.
MVA Managing Director Priscilla Iakopo thanked the concert organizer “for bringing this opportunity to the Marianas, as we all long for an exciting activity” after two years of Covid-19 restrictions.
Villanueva said “doors” at the Garapan Fishing Base open at 5:30 p.m., and the music will start at about 6:30 p.m. “going all the way to 11:30 p.m.”
“We also have an after-party event that is open to the public for those who are 21 years old and above. It’s free-of-charge entrance. You don’t need a ticket. We will open that up after the last performance, and we’ll have local artists Parker Yobei, and DJ Pogi and DJ Big Ken from Guam,” Villanueva said.
A similar concert will be held on May 22, Sunday, at the Fiesta Grounds on Tinian, he added.
“The event is open to the public and it’s free to the residents of Tinian.”
For Rota, Villanueva said, “we won’t be able to make it at this time, but we will make sure that [we’ll be there in] the next event that we will be having.”
According to Villanueva, “For some people this is their very first time they ever used online tickets. People are used to the physical tickets. We do have those. Basically what happens is if you have your online ticket, you just go in and show your bar code, or print it out, old school, like me…. If not, we can look up your name and ID, and we will scan that ticket or the bar code, and we will give you a wrist band. If you bought VIP tickets, we have a separate line for VIPs. We are looking at 400 VIPs, and 1,500 or more at the general admission. There will be no outside food, no coolers — we will have food on site, we have six vendors. You can bring your own chair if you like, but we will have seating available.”
He thanked the people for supporting the event, “We are also excited for the support because that means we can continue to grow, to bring different shows…not only reggae music but also other things as well…like comedy shows. That’s the plan. We are going to have more shows in the next 6 to 9 months — be ready for them.
To obtain online tickets, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/321229916327
Besides MVA, the other sponsors of the concert include Budweiser, Marianas Variety, Roil Soil Marketing, CNMI Covid-19 Care Force, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Commonwealth Council for Arts, IT&E and KKMP.
Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Priscilla Iakopo and Roil Soil Marketing owner and concert organizer Shayne Villanueva pose for a photo with the Hawaii reggae artists who will perform Friday evening at Garapan Fishing Base.
Maoli Music
Star Alanis of the Steppas
One Rhythm
